Percico-New Year's Two-Shot
by Loving Healer
Summary: Happy late-by-four-months New Year's! A two-shot where Percy and Nico, who are finally together in a happy relationship, celebrate New Year's Day. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I was supposed to write and publish this about... Three months ago, but I got caught up on my other Percico fanfictions so here I am now! Happy late-by-four-months New Years guys!**_

_**I'm going to apologize beforehand on Will's personality because I don't really know how to make him act. So I kind of made it up? Sorry if Will bothers you in this one-shot.**_

_**Spoilers from **_**The Blood of Olympus****_ in case some of you haven't read the book yet. _**

_**Note: Thanks to Pleonastica for editing my stories! **_

_**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I don't own any of the characters and et cetera in this fanfiction. Credit goes to Rick Riordan.**_

**Percico New Year's Two-Shot**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Chapter One**

**Nico di Angelo**

"Nico!"

My Stygian Iron sword pierced cleanly through the straw armored dummy as I sighed exasperatedly. What did the boy want now?

I withdrew my sword from the dummy when I heard rapid footsteps from behind approach me. I sheathed my midnight black sword and whirled around, wiping the perspiration that resided on my forehead with the back of my hand.

It was the coldest of seasons at the moment: Winter. A slight breeze ran throughout the camp, chilling everyone as much as a few shivers while light snow littered the floor. However, it wasn't cold enough to be wearing three layers of jackets. Of course, the weather around Camp Half-Blood was modified so that the weather always seemed to fit everyone's desires. It was absolutely wonderful. People got the chance to experience snow without freezing to death, and everyone got to experience a nice, warm summer where no one was drenched with sweat.

My black leather Aviator jacket still adorned me, though. Tattered, dark jeans covered my legs, and a midnight shirt hung around my torso. Silver chains dangled from my side, which matched with the silver skull ring on my index finger. I glanced down at my shaded high tops. They were blanketed with snow, but at least it wasn't six feet of snow like outside of the camp's borders.

I scanned the arena until my eyes landed on a certain idiot whose grin stretched all the way to sea green eyes that were filled with joy. His white teeth matched the snow that rained around us, and his black hair seemed to flow in the wind like some kind of supermodel. His orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt clung very nicely to his muscled body, and blue jeans hugged his legs. He was running barefoot, which puzzled me and made me narrow my eyes at him, but he didn't seem to notice my quizzical stare as his footsteps slowed until he finally stopped in front of me. His breathing was a tad bit ragged, but he still had that goofy grin plastered to his handsome face.

I rolled my eyes, leaning my weight on one leg. My gaze roamed his body—no, I was _not_checking him out, and I will never admit it—until it stopped at his stunning, hypnotizing eyes.

"What do you want?" I questioned tiredly, getting straight to the point instead of beating around the bush.

"Do you know what day it is today?" Percy asked excitedly, bouncing like a dog whose owner just returned home. Percy was visiting Camp Half-Blood for about a week or two. His school had recently released the students to enjoy Christmas with their families. For a few days, Percy celebrated Christmas with Sally and Paul. For New Year's, Percy came to the conclusion of wanting to celebrate it at Camp Half-Blood.

I arched an eyebrow. "What day is it today?" I thought for a few moments, contemplating the month and day. "Isn't today the second-to-last day of December?"

Percy's expression brightened. "Hell yeah it is!" He grasped my hand, making me slightly jump in surprise.

My cheeks glowed a bright red. I lowered my head, masking my flustered expression with my long bangs. A warm hand reached out to caress my cheek. I would've basked in its warmth until the hand suddenly jerked my head upwards until my gaze found the most unbelievable, oblivious, stupidest human I have ever met. How did I even end up falling in love with this courageous, brave, good-looking, strong—okay, maybe that's why I loved him. Hey, that wasn't the point at the moment, though.

My eyes widened when Percy's face neared mine. We had never kissed in public before except for our first kiss when I confessed to him, and we certainly haven't been so close to each other in front of other campers before. We haven't even held each other's hands. The closest, most intimate thing we had ever done was cuddle with each other in either Percy's bed or mine. I just... Thought he didn't want to "come out of the closet" or anything of the sort. It was why whenever he made a move to grasp my hand, I pulled away. He never interrogated me, so he most likely knew what I tried to portray whenever I pulled my hand away.

We had only started dating a couple of weeks earlier. Annabeth was still contemplating the dark side of Percy that seemed to have appeared when Percy almost suffocated Misery. At least, that was what I had heard from Jason.

It was about a few days before Percy and Annabeth had decided to travel to California in order to reside in New Rome. Reyna had given them the chance to begin a new life in Camp Jupiter. Well, specifically New Rome, but you all know what I mean. Annabeth had confronted Percy about the ordeal that was practically glued to her thoughts, and they had fought over it. Why they fought with each other, I had no idea. Jason hadn't known either, so I couldn't question him about it.

They had decided to take a break from each other, but by then, I had attempted to settle my conflicting feelings with Percy. I had thought I had gotten over the hero of Olympus and had moved on, but apparently, my heart begged to differ. Will Solace had convinced me to confess to the son of Poseidon, and Jason had been on Will's side with the decision.

The situation... Went downhill at the beginning once I had entered Percy's cabin.

...

_"Percy?" I peeked through the front door that was open by a crack from my previous knocking. I was clueless to the fact that the door was unlocked. The interior of the cabin was dark like a black hole that could attract anything into its massive depths. Outside, the sun was setting underneath the horizon, casting a full range of colors from red to purple that were dancing in the sky. It was as if the Stolls had stolen fireworks to create an explosion in the sky. Hm, maybe that was why their last name was "Stoll." Their surname sounded like the first part of "stolen." Why hadn't I thought of that earlier?_

_Anyway, dinner had just finished. All of the campers were preparing for tonight's fire, so not many were near the U-shape that the cabins formed. I didn't have the need to consume any food, for I wasn't hungry anyway since I kept overthinking possible scenarios of what was about to happen right before my very eyes._

_"Percy?" I repeated cautiously, reaching a hand out to make the entrance to the interior of the cabin wider. I had no clue if Percy was even in his cabin or if he finally decided to get a breath of fresh air. Everyone around camp had been talking about the huge fight between Annabeth and Percy. I was, unfortunately, sleeping the day away, so I was oblivious to what happened. Mostly the Aphrodite children were talking about it, and I had no desire to get close to_any _of them._

_I placed a hesitant foot into Cabin Three. I crept around the door to scan the room for Percy. Sure enough, there Percy was, sitting on the edge of his bed. His head shot up and his eyes bore daggers into me. I almost cowered away out of fear. Percy could look very scary if he really wanted to._

_"What do you want, Nico?" he asked me with slight annoyance lacing his tone of voice. He looked extremely tired from where I stood near the entrance to the lonesome cabin. His usually black, windswept hair was now disheveled as if he hadn't washed himself for days. Clothes were strewn all over the floor so it looked as if the cabin floor was now carpet instead of wood. For me, it was quite easy to spot the dried tear tracks that carved its way down the sides of Percy's chiseled features. His eyes that used to appear as a vibrant sea green now looked empty. The sea in his eyes stopped reflecting the sun's rays, and all that was left was the salty water that dripped down his eyes with every blink he made and with every rush of emotion that he felt. It was saddening to see the person that I loved looking like this._

_Yeah, I_still _loved Percy Jackson._

_Originally, I had moved on from Percy Jackson. I made of the excuse of "You're not my type" as I told him. Well, that wasn't the case._

_My brain told me I was over my idiotic crush, but my heart told me otherwise. I pretended to feel as if I were finally freed from the shackles of Cupid' s curse that was placed on me, and I distracted myself whenever I was alongside either Will Solace or Jason Grace, the two blondes who I seemed to trust the most, and probably the only people that I would ever depend on. I soon gave up and told the two blondes, who both convinced me to have a more reasonable conversation with the son of Poseidon instead of coming up with a lie and high fiving his girlfriend. It seemed like a marvelous plan in my head though; I don't know what exactly went wrong._

_"I just..." My sentence abruptly stopped. Shit, what did I have to do now? What was necessary in this case? What conversation starter should I begin with?_

Don't freak out, Nico. Don't freak out.

_I breathed in deeply until my lungs were full of rich oxygen. "Just wanted to see if you were doing okay is all."_

_Technically, it wasn't a lie, okay? I mean, I did actually go there to see if he was recovering, but I guess it wasn't the full truth. I can just... Lead our conversation toward the path that I was afraid to take but had to take anyway. If I returned to Will and Jason without muttering a word about my real reason to Percy, then they would both become furious. I didn't have the desire to see what would happen if a son of Jupiter and a son of Apollo teamed up. Would it be raining electric arrows? Who knew what would turn out? I certainly didn't, and I didn't plan on making it happen._

_"Did someone send you or something?" Percy mumbled the question, hanging his lead low until his gaze was set on his lap._

_I took a hesitant step into the cabin, the floorboards creaking under me even though the ground was blanketed with various amounts of clothing. I silently shut the door, letting my fingers slip away from the doorknob and into my Aviator jacket's pockets._

_I shook my head. "No one sent me. This is just me taking the initiative, is all."_

_He scoffed. "Oh really? I thought you hated me."_

_I slightly grimaced at his statement. Didn't anyone teach this oblivious boy how much I did for him and his companions? I delved back deeper into the Labyrinth because Minos had explained to me that Percy was in trouble. I suggested him to dip himself into the River Styx to become practically invincible. (Okay, that wasn't a very good idea, but it worked for a period of time, right?) I convinced my father to help the demigods and the gods bring down the rise of the Titans. I purposely travelled through Tartarus to find the Doors of Death. I had kept my promise to Percy to lead the remaining comrades of the Argo II toward the other side of the Doors of Death. I aided Jason with the retrieval of Diocletian's scepter. I raised an army of the dead to protect Frank, Jason, and Piper. With the help of Hazel, I shadow-travelled the seven back to the surface after Percy and Annabeth escaped Tartarus. I volunteered myself to shadow-travel the Athena Parthenos alongside Reyna and Coach Hedge even though I knew that it would slowly bring me death. I was able to convince some of the centurions to convince their cohorts of Camp Jupiter to aid us instead of the wretched augur of the Roman camp. I stopped Octavian in his tracks with Will and Octavian exploded himself and right into Gaea, which I found pretty hilarious, might I add. I even arrived at the conclusion that I wouldn't be leaving either Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter. Well, that was more for Will's and Jason's sake, but Percy still benefitted from it._

_I sighed lightly. "Er, well, okay look, Percy. I wanted to talk to you about something."_

_"Is this something about me needing food and shit like that?" Percy grumbled with slight frustration. "Piper had been bugging me about it this whole time. She even brought Leo so he could make my food that's supposed to be warm taste better."_

_I shook my head once more. "Do what you want, Percy. I've done the same, so I shouldn't bother you about it."_

_He chuckled humorlessly_—_something that I never thought would originate from Percy. "Well this is a first. I'm glad you're not here to drag me outside. I swear I've turned into some kind of vampire or something. I refuse to look at myself in the mirror and the light outside seems to be bothering me. Stupid Apollo."_

_The darkened light of the sun setting through his glass window seemed to have shined right upon Percy who hissed and shut his eyes rapidly. I almost snickered at the sight. I had the strangest feeling in the back of my mind that Will had something to do with the amount of light radiating in the specific direction of Percy's cabin._

_"Okay, okay! I'm sorry Apollo. Gods," Percy cursed, rubbing his eyes once the light had dimmed down._

_I shrugged, leaning against the wall behind me. I waited patiently for Percy to recover and regain his composure. Once he finished, Percy finally made eye contact with me._

_"So? What did you want to talk about?" Percy questioned me. His gaze softened when it landed on my form. Yeah, so I did look horrible, but I had no need to impress the one that I planned to confess my feelings to and get it over with. It wasn't as if I had the slightest chance of Percy returning the same feelings that I felt for him._

_"Just something I wanted to finally get off of my chest," I attempted to say as nonchalantly and calmly as possible. I had no clue if it had succeeded, but Percy didn't say anything of the sort._

_He patted the spot adjacent to him on his bed. "Come sit over here. You're blending in with the shadows and it looks like I'm talking to my wall."_

_I smiled in amusement. The same Percy Jackson was still there, masking itself underneath Percy's temporary depression. Some things will just never change._

_My steps seemed to bounce all over the room as I walked over to his bed. It was as if I was walking through a cave. The sounds of my shoes vibrated along the floor, and I found that extremely unusual due to the fact that the floor was unseen from Percy's clothes._

_I took a seat a reasonable distance away from Percy. It wasn't too close that I would become anxious, but it wasn't too awkwardly far away. I let my gaze find Percy, and our eyes met in what seemed like some sort of staring contest. It was as if Percy was trying to decipher me to see if he could predict what I wanted to tell him before I actually voiced it. Maybe it was something he adapted from Annabeth perhaps?_

_"Can I ask you something first?" Percy suddenly requested. I was slightly relieved, for I wouldn't have to confess to him anytime soon. Even if I did want to get this whole affair done with, mentally preparing myself while Percy questioned me would do me some good._

_I shrugged. "Go for it."_

_His lips twitched upward into what seemed to be a small smile. "Cool. Thanks Nico."_

_I shook my baggy, dark brown hair. "By all means, just ask me what you wanted."_

_Percy chuckled, and I was glad it wasn't humorless. "I wanted to figure out some way to apologize to Annabeth. I mean, apologizing to her over Iris Messaging would be kind of stupid, but I haven't thought of a very good way to confront her, you know? I just... Don't want to screw this up."_

_My heart felt as if it dropped down from my chest to the clothes-covered floor. Of course he would be thinking of something like that. Why wouldn't he? Who better to pair Percy Jackson up with other than Annabeth Chase? No one, I tell you;_no one_. They were the Golden Couple at Camp Half-Blood. Their relationship was what every couple strived to be._

_Why did I even agree to confess to Percy?_

_I shut my eyes and sighed quietly, wishing Percy didn't hear it. I might as well aid him. Seeing and hearing the one that I loved absolutely distraught was something that I didn't want my eyes to settle on or my ears to listen to. Yet here I was, sitting right next to my distressed crush._

_"Just walk right up to her and tell her how you really feel." Gods, could I be anymore hypocritical? "There's no use in stalling or anything. You might lose her. Just tell her how you really feel. She's a daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. I'm sure she'll understand." Oh look at that, I became even more hypocritical. What was wrong with me?_

_Percy stared at me hopefully. The color of the sea started to return when I glanced up at him. "Do you really think so?"_

_I nodded. "You guys have been through a lot together right? I'm sure it'll work out. The more you keep waiting, the more time you're losing. Go talk to her now." Man, I was definitely going to piss both Jason and Will._

_He grinned, resulting in a pounding against my chest. "Thanks, Nico. I knew I could count on you. You're just always so..." Percy paused to brainstorm of a correct word. "Reliable. Yeah, I could definitely rely on you for a lot of things."_

_He stood up quickly before looking down at me. "Didn't you have to tell me something, though?"_

_I lied, shaking my head from side to side. "No. Don't worry about me. Just go tell Annabeth before it's too late."_

_Percy rolled his eyes. "You liar. You told me you have to tell me something."_

_"It can wait, Percy." I waved his accusation aside. "You have to get Annabeth back."_

_"She can wait," Percy retorted, shocking me with how serious he sounded. "Tell me, Nico. I'm not getting Annabeth back until you tell me."_

_"Seriously Percy. Just forget it," I insisted, but Percy wasn't about to let it slide._

_He leaned over, placing his hands on the mattress so that his arms were surrounding me. Percy glared at me, a scowl marring his features. I moved back by an inch. His face was so dangerously close that it scared and flustered me at the same time. I was afraid I would end up doing something completely inappropriate, but I was flustered by being so close with the man I loved in secret, excluding Jason and Will who already knew about it so it wasn't really a secret to them._

_"Nico,_seriously_," Percy pronounced slowly. "Tell me. I don't care if you hate being so close to me. I'll come even closer if you don't tell me."_

_I clenched my teeth together tightly, attempting to suppress the oncoming blush. "Okay! Fine!" I cried. "Just don't come any closer."_

_He smirked. "Of course, my Ghost King," Percy tried to say elegantly._

_I rolled my eyes, punching him in his upper arm. "Are you trying to provoke me?"_

_"Provoke you into doing what?" Percy arched an eyebrow, his smirk still intact._

_"Provoke me into using your shadow to shadow-travel somewhere else so you wouldn't be able to figure out what I plan to say," I threatened sharply, narrowing my eyes._

_He sighed in what I assumed to be defeat. "Fine, fine. Just tell me, okay?"_

_I scowled. "Er, okay." I shifted uncomfortably in my position. Percy stared down at me expectantly, waiting patiently for me to finish mentally preparing myself._

_"Remember after the battle against Gaea I told you that you weren't my type?"_

_Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "Definitely. I had to beg Annabeth to tell me what you meant after you left."_

_I nodded in comprehension. "Okay, well it turns out that's not the case. I actually_—_"_

_I was silenced in the most surprising way ever. A pair of lips were against mine. My grip on Percy's bed sheet tightened as my eyes bulged out of my eye sockets. He leaned further, pressing our lips even closer together. My gaze flickered up to Percy's expression. His eyes were closed, so I couldn't exactly tell what kind of thoughts he was having. It frustrated me, but his actions made me feel a state of pure bliss. I had never thought that a scenario of this would truly happen._

_I slowly shut my eyes, finally returning the kiss. I was a bit hesitant about it. I mean, I wasn't exactly great at kissing. Hell, I haven't even kissed anyone before. The kiss I was currently sharing with Percy was the first kiss that I had ever experienced. At least I was able to experience such a thing. I always believed that I'd never find anyone who would truly love me back as much as I loved them back._

_When I pulled back for air and for answers, Percy surprisingly smiled at me. Did he just mistake me for his girlfriend or something?_

_"I'm guessing I'm your type still?" Percy surmised, amusement and joy swirling around in the sea of colors that he possessed in his gorgeous eyes._

_I rolled my eyes. I couldn't stop the blush that splashed across my cheeks. "Isn't it obvious now? You didn't have to kiss me to prove your point, though."_

_He shrugged. "I wanted to kiss you."_

_I almost spit in his face. "Excuse me. Repeat that?"_

_Percy pouted. "Is there something wrong with that?"_

_I would've stood up out of frustration and annoyance, but I thought otherwise. I didn't have the desire to bump my head against Percy's and receive a huge bruise._

_"Yes there is!" I practically yelled even though he was just mere centimeters away from me. "You don't even like me, so why even bother?"_

_"Who said I never liked you?" Percy demanded, staring straight into my dark brown eyes._

_My brain short-circuited. I swear I could feel sparks fly out of my ears. "What?"_

_"Who said I never liked you?" Percy repeated in what seemed to be a dangerous voice. His eyes narrowed down at me, waiting for an answer._

_"Your girlfriend did!" I blurted out. "Even if she didn't say anything, the fact that you have a girlfriend already proves that you don't, right?"_

_Percy shrugged. "You haven't heard of a guy liking someone else when they're in a relationship?"_

_"Uh,_no."

_Percy chuckled at my simple response. "Well then. I guess someone needs to talk to Piper about the complex subject called 'Romance.'"_

_"The only romance I've ever liked was My Chemical Romance." I sighed. "Sorry that I don't know anything about 'love.' I'm pretty much_Dead! _when it comes to that subject."_

_I don't know about you guys, but my double pun about that song by My Chemical Romance and the fact that I'm the son of Hades seemed like the best thing I had ever said._

_Percy rolled his eyes. "Was that supposed to be a pun or something?"_

_"If you listened to My Chemical Romance, you'd probably be able to see the double pun that I made."_

_"Are we_really _talking about My Chemical Romance or are we talking about how I love and envy you over Annabeth?"_

_"Frankly, I'd pick My Chemical Romance over any topic."_

_"Hah,_frankly."

_"Percy, shut up."_

_Percy laughed, sending shivers down my spine. "I don't think I'll ever shut up."_

_I rolled my eyes, but my brain suddenly memorized a sentence that Percy had previously stated. "Wait, did you just say that you love and envy me more than Annabeth?"_

_Percy's cheeks glowed bright red, which I found pretty adorable. "Yeah. What about it?"_

_"Why do you like me more than Annabeth?" I interrogated. "That's just... It doesn't make much sense to me."_

_He brushed his lips on the surface of my now-heated cheek. "You are the strongest demigod I've ever known," he whispered into my ear._

_I rolled my eyes even though Percy wasn't looking at me. "Stop being so modest, Percy. You're probably the strongest demigod ever known."_

_"Did I purposely go through Tartarus alone and make it out alive?" Percy began to challenge me. "Did I go through the Labyrinth that connects the whole entire world with no one but a ghost? Did I nearly die a bunch of times shadow-traveling some huge statue across the whole fucking world?"_

_"No," I mumbled miserably, confirming Percy's side of the argument._

_He smiled triumphantly. "Say however much you want about me beating up the Titans and Giants and other monsters, but I had the gods' help for the most part. You, Nico di Angelo, are the strongest and bravest demigod ever. I envy you for what you did. I'd never be able to make it through Tartarus alone." Percy shivered at the mere thought of it. "And the Labyrinth? Good gods don't get me started on that maze. What was Daedalus_thinking_when he made that?"_

_I shrugged. "What were you thinking when you came to the conclusion that you love me?"_

_"Oh come on," Percy pleaded. "I already told you what I thought. Give me a chance please?"_

_My heart churned with the hope of even being much more intimate and closer than just friends to the son of Poseidon. Did he really love me or was he just tricking me?_

_He gripped my shoulders and pulled his head back so he was now staring at me. "Just one chance, okay?"_

_His eyes looked so desperate yet hopeful. The waters crashed against the shore in huge waves in an attempt to catch something. The more time passed, the bigger the waves of the ocean became._

_"What about Annabeth?" I remarked._

_"I'll do something about her! I swear the next time I see you, we'll be together, alright?" Percy promised, but I never seemed to be convinced by Percy's promises. I mean, sure he kept the promise that he'll try to keep her safe, but it didn't seem as if he tried his hardest at it. I still held hate and grudges against him for that, yet here I was, contemplating whether I should give him a chance to be with me. Another thing I should mention is that my heart was completely disobeying my mind and decided to control my brain, which controlled every other part of my body._

_"Fine," I seemed to have blurted out even if my brain kept reminding me of that night when I made an enormous crack in the floor of the dining pavilion._

_Percy's eyes brightened like when the clouds clear and the sun is reflected off of the water's serene surface. "You mean it?!"_

_"Yeah." I nodded slowly, unsure if I would regret this decision later on. "Maybe... Maybe I'll give it a shot."_

...

Man, was I glad to have given Percy a chance. I definitely don't seem to regret anything about our relationship so far.

"So? Wh-What about the second to last day of December?" I stuttered before mentally cursing myself for stuttering. How did Percy make me feel like this multiple times throughout the day? _How?_

He smirked before I took a step back away from the person who was unbelievably my boyfriend. I spotted a hint of sadness wash over his features, but a smile soon appeared, wiping the memories of his sorrowful expression away from my clueless brain.

"I just wanted to do something with you," he replied, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

"Like what?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Reyna, Frank, and Hazel are coming over here to celebrate the New Year with us," Percy clarified. "If that's okay with you."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever you want. I don't particularly care."

He grinned brightly—probably brighter than Apollo's sun. "Great! We're meeting on the beach tomorrow night."

"Oh great, my _favorite_ place," I commented sarcastically. "I know Poseidon will _love_ me if I jumped into his domain while dating his most favored son," I stated in a completely monotone voice.

Percy laughed. "Oh come on! I think he likes it better if I date you instead of the daughter of Athena." He crossed his arms, leaning his weight onto a single leg. "Man, their rivalry is strong."

"Odysseus kind of made it worse, too by, oh I don't know, massacring all of Troy by siding with Athena." I scoffed.

Percy chuckled in amusement. "At least he made it home, right?"

"Oh yeah he made it home." I rolled my eyes. "But oh wait. Where are all of his men? Oh yeah! They're all _dead_. I think I've seen some of them in the Underworld actually."

He laughed. "Well you sure know a lot about the subject."

I frowned. "I guess I do."

He wrapped an arm around my neck playfully. "You brainiac. You're only like what? Fifteen now? When is your birthday anyway?"

"Why do even care?" I asked him instead of answering his question.

"So we can celebrate it, duh!" Percy exclaimed excitedly.

I shrugged his arm off, waving his question away. "I'll tell you when my birthday comes by, alright?"

Percy smirked. "You better remember."

"Let's just hope I remember. But for now, I have to go take a shower."

Both of Percy's eyebrows rose. "Can I watch?"

My eyes bulged as a hue of red spread across my face. "Wh-No!"

He grinned at the reaction he received as I ripped open Percy's cabin door and stomped back to Cabin Thirteen. "Why not?"

"Because that's—" My brain seemed to have malfunctioned from Percy's embarrassing request because I couldn't seem to think of anything to retort back.

"Because?" Percy drawled as I swung open the door.

We both stepped inside, shielded away from the snowfall currently taking place on the outside. My cabin was, of course, pretty dark. The Greek fire hanging in torches around the interior of the cabin seemed to be the only source of light. I didn't install any windows because just looking at the campers outside disgusted me, and because I was normally in here to hide from specifically Jason and/or Will. Their pestering about my well-being seemed very bothersome for the most part.

"Just forget it," I grumbled, digging through my drawers containing my monochromatic color scheme of dark clothing.

"Does that mean I can watch you?" Percy attempted to request again, resulting in a roll of my eyes.

"You idiot," I mumbled, slightly chuckling under my breath before grabbing a new pair of clothes and shutting the bathroom door behind me.

...

"You _do_realize how unhealthy you're going to get, right?"

My eyes rolled for the umpteenth time. "Does it look like I care?"

"Not really," Will huffed, leaning against the Hades table. "You still need to eat you know."

I shrugged wearily, stabbing the bits and pieces of food remaining on my practically empty plate. "What if I _don't_eat?"

"Have fun making your way to the Underworld early," Will retorted.

"I go there all the time, though," I replied nonchalantly. "To help Thanatos and my dad keep things in order. Ever since the Doors of Death were opened, things have been... Pretty crazy down there. They're trying to keep things under control now. And now that Thanatos is back thanks to Percy, Frank, and Hazel, he's got to get used to being back in the Underworld and working with a bunch of souls."

It was now Will's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You'd be visiting the Underworld as a _soul_if you keep this up."

I chuckled lightly. "Demigods die early anyway, so who cares?"

"I care!" Will objected.

"You being the son of Apollo has become really bothersome," I remarked.

"Says the one who almost died by turning into a shadow from shadow-travelling the Athena Parthenos halfway across the world."

I scoffed. "Your dirt-flavored gum didn't seem to help."

Will smirked. "It probably did but you just don't want to admit that dirt-flavored gum helps."

I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up from my seat by the Hades cabin. I scraped the leftover food on my plate into the hearth, muttering my prayers to the god of the Underworld under my breath. I shoved my hands into my pockets after I put my plate away.

"I have to go talk to someone, so see you later." I nodded to Will who returned the farewell. I strolled back to my cabin, the snow crunching underneath my feet with each step I took toward my cabin. The sudden thought occurred to me when I was taking a shower. I hadn't told anyone about my relationship with Percy. The only people that had the knowledge of our relationship was Jason, Percy, Annnabeth, and Will. I convinced Jason and Will to keep it a secret because I had no clue if Percy was ready to "come out of the closet." So, I demanded Jason and Will to not tell a soul. I was positive that Piper didn't know unless Percy told her or Jason betrayed me. I wasn't sure if Percy had told anyone other than Piper, but I had to tell Hazel in case she didn't know. If she visited Camp Half-Blood and found out herself that Percy and I were dating, she'd probably pass out. Hazel was born during the time where homosexuality wasn't really accepted, so it'd still take some period of time for Hazel to get accustomed to it—especially if her half-brother was homosexual.

I swung open my door and stepped inside. I threw my leather Aviator jacket onto my bed and dug through my pockets for a golden drachma. Once I had gotten a hold on the coin, I stepped toward a small fountain with mist being sprayed upward in a corner of my cabin that Percy had given me.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Hazel Levesque," I recited, flinging the golden drachma through the mist.

An image shimmered in the air as it slowly revealed my sister, Hazel Levesque. Over in California, time was behind by a few hours. I didn't have the time to calculate their time since I had to get straight to the point, but the sun had not even set in California near Berkeley apparently. Hazel was feeding Arion gold blocks again, and I rolled my eyes at the sight. I still wondered what Percy heard whenever Arion produced a sound.

"Hazel!" I called out to her, making her jump and whirl rapidly around.

"Nico? Gods, you scared me!" Hazel cried while Arion bent his head down low to grab the golden block in her grip.

I frowned at Arion's rude action, but I let it slide because, according to Percy, Arion's way of talking was pretty rude.

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh wait!" Hazel suddenly exclaimed. "Has Percy told you that Reyna, Frank, and I will be visiting you guys tomorrow?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I needed to ask you something before you get here."

"What's it about?"

"Has Percy told you about..." How was I supposed to phrase this without giving it away? "About us?"

Hazel blinked blankly at me for a few moments, and for a second I thought I sounded absolutely crazy.

"Oh!" Hazel's puzzled expression suddenly brightened. "You mean how you're dating Percy?"

"So Percy _did_ tell you..." I muttered.

Hazel shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah he did. I mean, it took a lot of time and a lot of Frank's comforting to get me used to it, but I... I think I'm okay with it. Just don't get too ashamed if I have to leave the room or something okay?"

I averted my gaze to the side. "Y-Yeah..."

"But, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Hazel interrogated with a sorrowful voice. "I would've expected you of all people to tell me first before your... Before Percy."

I scowled. "I just thought Percy wasn't ready to tell anyone, so I didn't tell anyone."

Hazel sighed. "You should've talked to him about it then! And anyway, Percy doesn't seem to be the type that had to 'hide in the closet' and all of that. Percy's much braver than that."

I chuckled. "I guess." A knock on the door interrupted me. "Uh, I think that's Percy."

An enormous blush erupted across Hazel's dark-toned skin, and I furrowed my eyebrows together and frowned at the sight, until I realized why she was red all over, and then my face heated up.

"We're not going to do anything!" I practically yelled at the shimmering image of Hazel.

"You're alone... In a cabin... With Percy Jackson, your l-lover," Hazel pronounced slowly, her eyes becoming wider and wider with each fragment she voiced.

"Hazel, the closest thing we've ever done was cuddle." I scoffed, attempting to make the blush plastered on my face disappear.

"In a... A bed?"

"Well yeah, of course in a—" I shut my mouth. I was just making the situation worse the more I said.

She grinned. "Have fun with Percy, I guess."

"Hazel!" I cried in desperation once she swiped her hand through the mist. I groaned at the misunderstanding I caused. I was about to take a seat on my bed and contemplate on everything wrong that I said to Hazel when another knock against the cabin door interrupted my thoughts.

I swung open the door to reveal the person that I surmised it to be: Percy Jackson.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "So, I heard some yelling in there. What the hell happened in there?"

I ran a hand through my thick, messy hair. "Just talking to Hazel."

"About?" Percy asked, giving me permission to continue my explanation.

"Hazel thinks we're doing more than just cuddling in here," I finished, succeeding in the task I mentally made by not blushing.

There was a very long pause between us until Percy burst out into laughter. He wiped at the corner of his eyes and held his stomach while he laughed. At one point, he had to reach a hand out for the door so he could keep his balance and not topple all over the floor.

"_Hazel_ thinks we're doing more than that?!" Percy managed to say in between laughs. "Oh Gods, that's the best thing I've heard all day!"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you coming in or are you going to keep laughing at that for the rest of the night?"

He chuckled, stepping through the doorway and shutting the dark door behind him. He yawned and stretched, and I couldn't help but peek at the bottom of his shirt where it rose up to reveal a part of his muscled stomach.

I peeled my eyes away from the enticing scene and proceeded to slip off my tattered jeans and jump into my bed. Percy soon followed, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me closer to his body.

I turned over to face him, who smiled back at me. "I love you Nico."

"I love you too, Percy," I whispered back before snuggling against his chest and drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: Again: I'm apologizing now for how similar Will's and Percy's personalities seem to be. If it doesn't seem that way to you, then that's even better. **_

_**Note: Thanks to Pleonastica for editing my stories! **_

_**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I don't own any of the characters and et cetera in this fanfiction. Credit goes to Rick Riordan.**_

* * *

**Percico New Year's Two-Shot**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

**Percy Jackson**

* * *

I cracked my eyes open. I was expecting sunlight to appear in my line of vision, and then I suddenly remembered that Cabin Thirteen didn't have any windows for natural sunlight to seep through.

I exhaled lightly, burying my nose into the softest and silkiest hair I have ever felt. I inhaled deeply, smelling the extravagant scent of pomegranates and vanilla. Gods, I loved it so much. I need someone to get pieces of Nico's hair and make a pomegranate and vanilla perfume. I mean, I'd wear it. Maybe the Aphrodite kids could do something about that.

My arm tightened around his waist as I pulled Nico closer to me. I lifted his thin shirt up and slid my hand along his back, feeling his smooth skin that seemed absolutely free of scars no matter how many battles he had endured. I ran my lips across his ear with my eyes shut. And just a reminder: don't tell Nico that I molest him like this while he is sleeping. And yeah, I do this to him every morning. It was a fortunate thing that Nico was a heavy sleeper, or I would've been caught much earlier.

I lifted myself up with an elbow and hovered off Nico's sleeping form. I placed a hand along his cheek as I turned his head toward me, rubbing slow, invisible circles along the surface. Gods, Nico's angelic face always made me want to take him on the spot. I mean, just imagine that angelic face contorted in pleasure as I thrust deeply into his entrance while tongue-kissing him at the same time. And whenever he moaned my name...

Okay, the _last _time I thought further than that, I had to run to the bathroom and take care of my boner. I was a bit too lazy to run to the bathroom again.

I mean, yeah, I have never had sex before with anyone. However, I had never felt so passionate about a person before. With Annabeth, I did experience feelings of love, but not as strongly as when I was with Nico. Damn, Aphrodite seriously got her revenge against me. I thought I was going to be with Annabeth for the rest of my life. Hell, we would've both been residing in New Rome by now if not for our little fight that happened all because of Misery. You could say that I was a bit... _Miserable. _

I blinked momentarily, drawing myself away from my thoughts. My line of vision eventually found Nico again with his red, plump lips slightly parted as he breathed lightly.

I sighed, lying back down on the bed and running a hand through my hair that was identical to the color of my boyfriend's clothing. Did I regret not being with Annabeth? Well, a little, I guess. It's only been a few weeks since my relationship with Nico began, so of course I still wasn't completely accustomed to being with him. I was still recovering from the break up that I had with Annabeth. We experienced so many battles and endured multiple enemies together. I even snuck on a quest so I could save Annabeth from Atlas's grasps.

I turned my head to look at Nico, who was now snuggled comfortably against my arm. Whenever I looked at Nico, all I could remember was how much I envied Nico and how much stronger he was than me. He still continued to say that I was stronger and braver and more courageous then he would ever be, but that wasn't true. To me, Nico lost _everything. _His only true family who ever cared about him. His personality disappeared when he was only ten years-old, and he endured the great Labyrinth that Daedalus built with no one but a ghost who ended up betraying him. He saw Tartarus at its most fearful form since he was the son of Hades, yet he still faced the terrors and obstacles in there all alone. Everything and everyone was an enemy to him, but he ventured through alone to find the Doors of Death. He even continued to support me through both wars even if I was the one at fault for taking Bianca away. I still couldn't believe I actually thought Nico despised me.

My hand maneuvered itself toward his hips. Holy Hera, he probably possessed smoother skin than Annabeth. Nico was just so addicting to touch. I could never keep my hands off of him.

I mean, seriously, I endured two great wars against immortals while fighting with the actual gods of Olympus, yet I was most likely the most hormonal teenager alive. Why did Nico have to be so much like a drug?

I desired to kiss Nico so badly, but I was afraid that he wouldn't be ready. Nico always seemed to pull away whenever I got too close and intimate for him outside of either Cabin Three or Cabin Thirteen. It made me feel... abandoned as if Nico didn't actually love me as much as I loved him. I always convinced myself that he pulled away because he just wasn't accustomed to physical contact still. Yet, Jason and Will could touch him perfectly fine, so why couldn't I? Did they have some kind of advantage over me or something? I never bothered to ask Nico about it; I was always afraid of those wretched words coming out of Nico's mouth:

_"I don't love you, Percy."_

Tonight. Tonight at midnight I'll find out his true feelings for me. At the New Year's party, I planned something special for him. Annabeth had told me that if you kissed someone within the first minute of New Year's Day, you would spend a long amount of time with that person. At least, I hope that was what she said. I couldn't recall Annabeth's statement very clearly. Anyway, I was hoping to spend an eternity with Nico, so I demanded myself time to share a passionate kiss with Nico once it was 12 o'clock on January 1st to ensure my eternity with the stunning son of Hades.

I continued to slide my hands against his back and waist while lightly sucking on the skin near Nico's collarbone. Nico whispered his sleep, sending jolts of electricity and pleasure toward the area underneath my waist. I mentally cursed to myself at the feeling of a slight erection. Great, I just _had _to do this to myself, huh? Now what was I supposed to do?

Nico began to stir and I ripped my hand and face away from his body. My face heated up at possible scenarios that played through my brain. What if Nico caught me with my hand up his shirt while practically giving him a hickey? I didn't feel like thinking about how embarrassing of a conversation it was going to be. I mean, I saved Olympus twice and I worried about my boyfriend catching me molesting him in his sleep! And people thought I was some perfect, good-looking Greek god. _Please. _

I could feel my erection pulsing against Nico's inner thigh as his eyes opened halfway, revealing soft dark brown eyes. My heart pounded rapidly against my chest at the conversation that might, unfortunately, make an appearance.

I pretended that what I had previously done never happened, for I smiled sincerely and pecked Nico on the tip of his nose.

"Good morning, my Ghost King," I chuckled deeply. I wrapped a careful arm around him, frightened I would molest him again. The only difference would be that he was _awake._

He stared at me for awhile, as if processing what I just stated. I surmised that he was still half-asleep.

Soon enough, Nico returned the smile. Even if he just woke up from his slumber and he wasn't quite used to his surroundings, Nico was still the most gorgeous angel I had ever laid my eyes on. Also the most gorgeous angel that will get laid by none other than me, but that wasn't the point at the moment.

"Good morning," he replied, groggily sitting up and swiping a hand across his face.

I chuckled from how adorable he seemed as I joined him upright on the mattress. "Tomorrow is going to be New Year's, you know," I reminded him, hoping that the event hadn't slipped his mind.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I know," Nico said like a malfunctioning robot.

"You're coming down to the beach to celebrate, right?"

I was hoping he hadn't changed his answer he told me on the day before. Annabeth had told me some time ago during the days when I was still infatuated with her that if you kissed the person you loved seconds after New Year's Day took place, it was said you would spend a long time with that person. Even if it seemed to be some sort of stupid myth, I still want to try it with my one and only boyfriend, Nico di Angelo. Well, technically Annabeth said that it usually happened when people watched the New Year's ball right here in New York's drop, but that didn't matter to me. I mean, I would still kiss him when the ball drops; the New Year's ball will just drop some other place while I'm at the beach, right?

"You mean you're going to _make _me come with you," Nico corrected, resulting in laughter to resonate throughout the cabin.

"Come on," I patted his thigh, resisting the temptation of what is known as Nico di Angelo.

"Okay." Nico chuckled under his breath. I was about to set my feet on the cool floor of the Hades Cabin until his voice interrupted me.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Nico questioned me in a hushed voice. I could feel his gaze burning my back.

I nervously stuttered, "_U-Uh_,sure."

To be truthful with you, I was _plenty _nervous. I was afraid he changed his answer about the New Year's get-together. Or maybe something even more horrible than that, but I didn't want to think about... About losing him.

What was on Nico's mind, anyway? I was too afraid to turn back and search Nico's expression for answers; I was frightened to find something that would confirm my horrifying suspicions.

I caught the sound of Nico clearing his throat from behind me.

_Here it comes, _I warned myself, steeling myself for the question that was yet to come.

A silence followed after my thought, and I was beginning to feel impatient. I was about to whirl around and ask Nico what in Hades he wanted to ask me, but Nico beat me to it.

"Were you just touching me when I was sleeping?"

Now _here's _where the _awkward _silence began. Many thoughts were running through my brain at a million miles per hour, such as how he even figured that out. I swear to the gods up in Olympus I pulled away on time!

The only reasonable thing I could do was bolt to the bathroom and slam the door behind me before Nico could spot my ridiculous and horribly embarrassing blush.

* * *

**Nico di Angelo**

* * *

After I laughed for an eternity—I probably could've laughed myself all the way down into the deepest part of Tartarus, but why would I want to do that?—about how Percy reacted to my sudden interrogation, I dragged him out of the bathroom and forced him to confess the entire thing to my face. Turns out that he has been harassing me in my sleep for weeks now. What a horny child...

Anyway, I bet you're wondering how I even found out about such a thing. At first, I thought perhaps I was imagining things. The facts that the hem of my shirt was pulled a bit up to reveal a good portion of skin to the person adjacent to me and that my neck felt tingly for some reason as if someone, such as _the person I was in bed with,_ recently touched me, added to my imagination. I had my suspicions at first, but I pushed the ridiculous idea out of my mind. However, the thought kept bringing itself back to the front of my mind, and it bothered me so much that I had to question Percy about it. Percy was so silent afterwards I thought Percy must have been thinking about how crazy I sounded until he made a break toward the bathroom as if he just _really_ had to go or something.

He continued to hide himself in the bathroom afterwards most likely to take care of something he caused himself. During that time, I managed to dress myself after leaving my bed. It was unbelievably dim in the cabin, so I was quite shocked to find Percy sprinting toward the bathroom without tripping or hitting his leg on anything. I mean, to be truthful, I wasn't a very immaculate being.

I was still waiting for Percy to exit so I would be able to brush my teeth properly. You could say I wasn't very patient either, and after some contemplation, I gave him mercy and came to the conclusion that perhaps I should give him a few more minutes to take care of whatever problem that I'm assuming he has. I didn't want to walk into _that_. Oh _gods _no.

He finally came—as in _exited _the bathroom, although I surely hope he took care of his problem and tidied up afterwards—out of the bathroom with his facing possessing a light tint of red to it. I smirked and chuckled at him as I passed by, and when I peeked over my shoulder, I could faintly detect the slightest darkening of his blush. Typical of Percy...

...

Despite the rules set for Camp Half-Blood, Percy still insisted on taking a seat next to me at the Hades table during breakfast at the Dining Pavilion. I still wondered why Camp Half-Blood would spend money on getting tables for each god of the Big Three if there would only be literally one person sitting at the table, unless they were for free and the wood nymphs constructed them or something. I mean, if they were complementary, then I'd totally take a bunch of tables. Actually, are these tables even _made _from wood? Maybe I would question Annabeth or Leo about it later on. Someone else from the Athena or Hephaestus Cabin would work, too.

"What are we doing for New Year's at the beach anyway?" I decided to ask Percy once he took his seat next to me. "I don't know if your dad will even want me there."

Percy chuckled, shrugged nonchalantly and took a bite into his food. "Just hang out, I guess. I know Leo wanted to make some fireworks to celebrate. And don't worry about it. I'm sure my dad wouldn't want Annabeth or Jason stepping all over his territory, either."

"Like that makes me feel _so _much better," I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

"It should!" Percy grinned innocently, swinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer. "At least you're not the only one, right?"

"I'd rather not be any part of it," I retorted.

Percy rolled his eyes and huffed. "But that'd mean you wouldn't even be part of the Big Three! You probably wouldn't even be who you are now, and we wouldn't be dating."

"Well why's that?"

"Because I love you for who you are." Percy smiled affectionately in my direction. "I wouldn't love you if you were different now, would I?"

I glared at him, but I already knew that I was blushing. "You idiot," I grumbled with gritted teeth.

"Love you too, Nico." He chuckled and pecked me on my cheek.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Hurry up and eat. I want to train for a bit at the sword arena."

Percy laughed softly. "Okay, okay. But what about you? Aren't you going to eat?"

I shook my head in order to answer his previous question.

"You know, Will might get mad at you," he nudged me in the side and gestured toward the Apollo table where Will currently sat with his other half-siblings.

I glanced up at Percy's face with an expression that read, "Does it look like I care?" However, I became mildly shocked at the expression he held. I mean, sure he appeared happy in a teasing kind of way, but I could faintly detect something else in his sea green eyes. Something... I couldn't tell what until I arrived at the realization that _I _used to have the same kind of look in my eyes.

_Jealousy._

* * *

"I'm so exhausted!" Percy exclaimed as he collapsed onto his bed after swinging the door of Cabin Three open. "Since when did you get so good at sword fighting?"

I shrugged. "At least you don't have to deal with _sweat,_" I countered, taking a seat on the edge of his bed adjacent to Percy, my breathing still ragged from how much energy I exerted toward the duel against Percy. Of course, as always, Percy was the best sword handler.

"I still have to deal with Mrs. O'Leary's saliva though." Percy laughed, moving his eye sight toward me.

"Better than having to deal with everything else," I remarked. "The only thing that you have to deal with is her saliva but half the time she isn't even here!"

A long silence followed. I was preparing myself for some kind of retort from Percy, but nothing stroke back. I raised an eyebrow at Percy, but he seemed to be in some type of trance.

"Percy?" I neared his face and he blinked blankly up at me before practically colliding his forehead against my own.

"Ow!" We both exclaimed, rapidly backing away from each other. I was now on my feet while Percy toppled onto the floor.

"What the actual hell!" he cried, jumping up from the floor.

"You didn't even see me coming?" I questioned him suspiciously with narrowed eyes.

"I kind of wish I did." Percy chuckled, rubbing the back of his head where it painfully made contact with the ground. He smirked at me as if he made some kind of joke.

My eyebrows continued to stay narrow as Percy plopped himself back onto the bed. I rewound the previous conversation in my mind, trying to figure out if Percy meant anything. Considering the way he suspiciously stared up at me with that adorable innocent look on his face, I figured he made a joke or I said something and he made a joke about it. Either way, I was still perplexed.

All of a sudden, it dawned on me as if I were in the Hades cabin and someone miraculously installed windows when the sun was just beginning to rise.

I punched him in the shoulder and Percy yelped at the surprising action. My teeth were clenched tightly together, but an enormous amount of the hue red was clearly evident across my face.

"Percy!"

"What?" Percy whined longingly as if imagining the appalling scene of me masturbating in his mind. "It'd be nice to watch you come, you know."

"You..." I growled out. I ended up sighing in mere defeat. "I still can't believe you saved the world twice."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Me neither. Me neither..."

I rolled my eyes and glanced out the window. The sun was setting now; half of it was most likely underneath the horizon. The sky burst with gorgeous pictures of colors containing blue, orange, red, pink, and the occasional purple. It was such a stunning sight to witness, I couldn't help but marvel at the work of art Apollo presented.

"It's almost time to meet up with everyone else, you know." Percy pushed himself up from the bed. "I'm going to go shower, okay?"

I nodded, mumbling a hushed, "Alright."

"You should too." I hadn't even noticed how close Percy was to me until he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my body even closer to his. "I mean, even if you look sexier while sweating, which I didn't think was actually possible, you should go take a shower."

I rolled my eyes once more before bidding my goodbyes and exiting the cabin. I scanned the vast sky above me. Even if Zeus hated children of Hades, especially since he murdered my mother and attempted to drag Bianca and me down with her, the sky gave me peace. The translucent clouds moved so slowly across the sky. It moved just as slowly as life. However many people say life was too fast, I've always thought life was too slow. You could experience so many emotions and experiences, and by the time you took a glance back at the calendar, it has only been a week. Imagine reflecting back on your life after a year.

I chuckled under my breath. I guess that was the magic that people decided to name "life."

I tore my gaze away from the sky and continued toward the darkest cabin out of all the other cabins that formed a U-shape. I couldn't even believe how much I had changed. Imagine a bubbly little ten year-old being a son of Hades. I still couldn't believe I thought being a demigod was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in my lifetime.

"Hey, Nico!"

I sighed exasperatedly at the voice that originated from behind me. I pivoted on my heel to find the very being who gave me the worst flavor of gum ever. Don't ever trust him if he offers you a stick of gum. It's horrible, trust me. It doesn't matter if this certain stick of gum will save your life. Just don't take the offer.

"What do you want, Solace?" I questioned with an unamused gaze directed toward the guy who had "sun" as part of his last name. I mean, he was a child of Apollo, too. It worked out so well it also appeared to be kind of creepy.

"Is it wrong to want to greet my friend?" He raised an eyebrow.

I tiredly shrugged. "Maybe you can do it when I'm not busy."

"You're admiring the sky," Will deadpanned. "Are you sure you're busy?"

"I am a very busy person," I stated firmly.

"Then," Will drawled, "what were you doing staring at the sky if you seem to be _so _busy?"

"I'm just a bit tired, okay?" I muttered, shoving my hands into the front pockets of my black leather jacket. "I promised Percy that I'll celebrate the New Year's with him tonight. I'm just a bit exhausted from my sword fight with Percy."

"Please tell me this sword fight took place in the sword arena and not in a bed." Will pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as if he were done with all of my shit.

"It was in the sword arena, thank you very much!" I shouted with a blush adorning my features.

Will put a finger to his chin. "Going public huh, Nico? Didn't know you were so confident about it."

My teeth were so clenched tightly together I thought they would shatter. My fists were shaking so badly in my pockets I just wanted to wipe that stupid smug look off of his face.

I exhaled deeply in a failed attempt to calm my nerves. "I will _publicly_ kill you if it's fine with you, Solace," I stated with a dangerously calm tone.

Will held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright," he said with an annoying smirk still on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you coming tonight?"

He shook his head in response. "I still have to help the campers that just came back from their quest."

I nodded slowly in comprehension. "Okay, well, see you later."

I pivoted on my heel and headed toward the direction of my cabin once more after hearing Will's goodbye.

* * *

"You ready to go?" Percy pulled me toward his body as I snuggled my face into his chest.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Whenever you want to go. I personally don't feel like going."

Percy pulled away, but he kept his hands on my shoulders. "Well why not?"

"Don't you know?" I asked like it was the most obvious fact in the world. Actually, it really was the most obvious fact in the world.

"Is it because you hate people?" Percy knit his eyebrows together before I answered his question with a simple nod.

"But you know these people!" Percy retorted. "Wouldn't you like being with people that you actually like?"

I shrugged nonchalantly once more. "It's such a bother having to deal with people. I just... Feel more peaceful whenever I'm alone or just with you. Whenever I'm around other people, I don't feel like myself."

"Do you act all of your feelings to them or something?"

I shook my head. "It's hard to explain. I do act myself around others. With you... I feel peaceful and better and... I have no idea where I'm going with this." My shoulders slumped in defeat while Percy laughed softly out of sheer amusement.

"It's okay. I get it. I'm just better and more special than everyone else. Thanks for telling me Neeks." He smirked down at me, pulling me back against his chest.

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't deny it. I snuggled deeper into his chest, hoping that this feeling wouldn't disappear anytime soon.

"It's the same with you, you know," Percy said with his lips against the top of my head. His voice was muffled by my extremely messy hair, but Percy became very defensive whenever I picked up a brush. This one time when I was going to comb my hair, Percy pulled out his Celestial Bronze sword and sliced the brush in half at such a superior speed that I didn't even have the time to breath.

"What's the same with me?"

"I feel happier when I'm with you instead of with other people," Percy answered in a soft and soothing voice that could've coaxed me to sleep while standing.

"Happier, huh?" I repeated into his chest. "I feel happier when I'm with you... Yeah, I guess that makes more sense than what I said."

Percy chuckled deeply. "Don't worry; yours just sounds like a more in-depth kind of version than mine. It makes you sound smarter."

I rolled my eyes once again. "Are we going to go or not?"

"I don't know. Do _you _want to go?"

"I know you want to. So yes, we're going."

Percy groaned. "But _you _don't want to go."

I sighed. "Why do you care if I don't want to go? I'm dressed up already so I might as well go."

"I just feel bad for dragging you to some place that you don't even want to be at." It was Percy's turn to sigh now.

I offered him a small smile. "It's fine, Percy. As long as I don't have to meet new people."

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Are you sure, though?"

I nodded firmly. "Yeah. Let's go."

We exited the cabin, and I was surprised when Percy intertwined his fingers with mine. We usually never did anything in public. I guessed that maybe since it was a special occasion, he decided to do something special.

* * *

It was dark by the time we got to the shore. The waves swiftly flowed down in smooth hills against the sand that was as flat as paper. I never remembered the beach here being so stunning, but I guessed it was because I never really paid any attention. The beach always reminded me of a certain someone, so I never wanted to even glance toward this direction.

Percy squeezed my hand tightly. "Are you sure you want to go? We can ditch them right now if you want. I'm pretty sure they haven't seen us yet."

I shook my head. "Percy, it's _fine. _Just forget it."

"Forgetting that my boyfriend isn't having a great time..." Percy mumbled. "Well that's a good thing to do."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to be under immense torture or anything like that. Don't worry; it's not like I'll be super miserable."

"Yeah. You'll just be miserable. That's good too," Percy remarked sarcastically.

I punched him. "Stop being so negative."

"Oh, _I'm negative. _I see now." Percy offered me a lopsided grin as I rolled my eyes once more.

"Let's just go okay?" It was weird that _I _was the one pulling him toward the mob of people this time instead of Percy trying to get me to be more social, but I didn't really mind that much. I just wanted Percy to stop worrying so much. However, I guess that was a good thing. I mean, it portrayed how much Percy loved me right?

Percy still appeared extremely unsure, but he went along with me anyway.

Once the rest of the seven along with Reyna and Calypso finally noticed our presence, the first thing I realized was Hazel's arms that were wrapped around me.

Yeah, I never actually told you guys about Leo. A month after everyone thought Leo died and blah blah, he came back flying on Festus's back along with Calypso while screaming at the top of his lungs: "I'M BACK BABY. WHO'S THE MAN? LEO VALDEZ IS THE MAN! CHILD OF HEPHAESTUS COMING THROUGH!" We even had a funeral for him and everything but it turned out that Leo was actually alive. At least it wasn't like Percy's case where he actually came back and interrupted his own funeral.

"Hey, Hazel," I said once I finally recovered my voice after being surprised by her. I released my grip from Percy to return Hazel's embrace.

"Hey!" she greeted, offering me a huge grin. "You made it."

I shrugged as we separated and Frank grabbed her hand. "I promised Percy I'd come with him."

"If everyone's here, then does that mean I can shoot the fireworks now?" Leo asked hopefully, glancing between Percy and me.

"I told you to wait until a few seconds before it's twelve," Piper huffed while Leo groaned exasperatedly.

"I worked forever on these babies and they're getting pretty impatient to show you guys how beautiful they are!" Leo exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the already-prepared fireworks behind him.

Piper laughed. "Well your _babies_ will have to wait a little longer."

Leo groaned once again, and everyone laughed. Oh, poor Leo.

"Calm down, Leo." Annabeth sighed. "It's only for another few minutes or so."

"Count those few minutes wasted then!" Leo cried. "You know, my little babies could've used those few minutes to show off their true beauty to us."

Annabeth only rolled her eyes and huffed at Leo's response.

"So," Jason began to say. "I see you and Percy were holding hands on the way here." A smirk soon graced his features. Hah, _graced_ his features. I am on a roll.

Percy and I exchanged glances, and I already knew what he was attempting to portray through his expression: _Why haven't you told him yet?_

"Uh, yeah, we were." I was attempting to avert my gaze, but I had no idea what to look at.

"Would you like to explain, Mr. di Angelo?" Jason questioned me as if he were a teacher asking a student the same question before the student got scolded for doing some kind of prank or whatnot.

"We're dating," Percy put bluntly, slipping his muscular arms around my waist and pulling me closer toward his warm body.

"Wait, _seriously_?!" Leo and Jason cried simultaneously.

"Yeah, seriously." Percy furrowed his eyebrows and glanced down at me. "Why didn't you tell them earlier?"

I ground my teeth together in frustration. I couldn't just _tell _Percy I thought he wanted to keep our relationship a secret because I didn't know if he was ready to tell the whole world that he was in a relationship with a guy. I mean, especially since he was hugging me in front of everyone else, I couldn't just say that I didn't think he wanted our relationship to be public.

"It's nothing," I mumbled. I knew Percy enough to know that he would've protested, but Percy knew that I would tell him later.

Jason arched an eyebrow. "You know, Nico, I _told _you you'd win. Does Will know?"

"More like he forced the answer out of me before I had the chance to tell him properly," I muttered, resulting in laughter resonating from the son of Jupiter.

"Sounds just like him." Jason cleared his throat in order to regain his composure.

"I'm happy for you two." Piper grinned at both Percy and me. "I had no idea you had an interest in guys too, Percy."

Percy shrugged. "I don't think I really did. I guess I just loved everything that Nico did so much that I ended up loving him anyway."

"It sounds like something my mom would do," Piper grumbled, shifting her weight onto one leg and placing her hands upon her hips.

Percy laughed. "It's okay, though! I love Nico and I haven't regretted it at all."

"_Yet_," I corrected nonchalantly, even though on the inside it felt as if my heart were suffocating at the mere thought of not being with Percy anymore.

"Oh, come on Neeks, don't say that," Percy whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine from his warm breath contrasting with the cool winter air.

"It's true though, isn't it?" I turned my head to the right to face him.

"No it's not and it'll never be," Percy said so certainly and confidently that I almost believed him.

"I bet you all your gold drachmas you said the same thing to Annabeth," I pointed out, and I could faintly hear Leo somewhere in the back yell: "_Oooh_, burn!"

Percy narrowed his eyes. "That may have been the case, but if I'm in a relationship with you as long as I was in a relationship with Annabeth, then it'd go on until I die. I mean, I'm eighteen now; another three or four years and I'm dead."

"We're _all_ dead," Annabeth corrected him, making Percy chuckle.

"Yeah, we're _all_ gone and hopefully meet back in Elysium," Percy said. "In other words, I'll be with you for the rest of our lives. Doesn't that sound nice?" He whispered the last sentence so quietly that no one else could hear but me.

"I guess I have no objections to that," I said quietly under my breath.

He smiled so sweetly at me that I wouldn't be surprised if he was smiling at someone else behind me. "That's good to hear. So, why don't we just celebrate New Year's now, huh?"

I nodded. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

* * *

The New Year's party was actually pretty great even though we didn't do anything. Frank complained a bit about the amount of work he was assigned to complete as the new praetor of Camp Jupiter while Jason kept patting his shoulder and repeating the same phrase: "I feel you, man."

Leo and Annabeth sometimes quarreled over when his "babies" would be fired off into the night sky. Leo mostly butted into conversations and made jokes that would make everyone laugh though.

Jason and I had a short conversation where he told me, "I told you you'd get Percy!" And, of course, I snapped at him which made Percy laugh behind me for some reason, but at least I earned a kiss on the cheek from him. It was probably the closest kiss to my lips I'd ever get for awhile, but I guessed that was okay.

Reyna came over to me and congratulated me on finally finding happiness. That was when Leo butted into our conversation and said how out of character that was for Reyna before his face was almost shoved into a nearby tree. I admit I almost laughed at that. I kind of felt bad for Leo though. Reyna could be pretty violent whenever she wanted to be.

We also talked about stories about our trip across half of the world with the Athena Parthenos. The only person missing was Coach Hedge, but he had to help his wife take care of his child. If he was taking part in our conversation, he would probably have some crazy stories to tell that probably didn't even happen. I also explained to Reyna how I got my Hawaiian shirt as a replacement for my aviator jacket. As soon as I got back to camp after the war against Gaea and Octavian's fires and all of that, the first thing I did was get a new aviator jacket. I could _not_ live with a Hawaiian shirt for the rest of my demigod life.

Percy and Annabeth had a short and awkward conversation. I had no knowledge of how Percy even ended his relationship with Annabeth, but I was still glad I hadn't gotten in the way of their friendship or anything of the sort. I didn't really listen to what their conversation revolved around mostly because I didn't want to appear like an eavesdropper or a stalker. And anyway, I could always ask him later on.

Once I heard a voice yell, "It's finally time!" I realized two things: 1) Leo was just being weird as usual and 2) it was a few seconds before it was going to be January 1st of a new year.

The first firework went off, and I had to smile at the beautiful sight that Leo made for us. The first firework were letters making up the words CAMP HALF-BLOOD AND CAMP JUPITER. Of course, Leo just had to color-coordinate them so that "Camp Half-Blood" was in orange and "Camp Jupiter" was in purple. The words exploded in the air with a loud _bang_ before the colors dispersed moments later and smoke withered through the air.

"Hey Nico," I managed to hear through all of the commotion. I whirled around to face the person who called my name, but I didn't have the chance to respond to them as a warm pair of lips silenced me.

My eyes widened at the sudden action. Was Percy _actually_ kissing me? Like an _actual_ kiss on the lips? Didn't I just say that the kiss I received on my cheek would be the closest kiss I'd get for a long time?

The wind was knocked right out of me when Percy pressed his lips against mine and caressed my cheek. It was the first kiss I'd ever experienced, but even though it was, I still kissed him back. I just kind of hoped I wasn't too awkward at it because I had zero experience with kissing others.

His hands slid down to my waist and pulled me onto his lap, so I was guessing I was doing something right. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a deeper and more passionate kiss. Our lips moved sensually against each other as if we've shared kisses multiple times. His hands slipped underneath my dark shirt and started to lightly run his fingertips against me. I let a soft moan escape through my lips before we, unfortunately, separated for air.

I was panting as if I had just fought the strongest being in the world, and so was Percy. His sea green eyes that lit up each time a firework went off were filled with lust, and I had no doubt in my mind that my dark brown eyes held the same thing. I also could definitely feel a slight erection where I was sitting which was obviously Percy's.

"What was that?" I finally managed to say after catching my breath.

"Annabeth told me once that if I kissed the person I loved the first minute it was New Year's Day, then I'd spend the rest of the year with that person. And," Percy blushed, "I wanted to try it with you."

I gave him a genuine smile. I didn't know where I got the courage to do such a thing, but I pecked his lips quickly before saying, "I love you, Percy."

Percy returned the genuine smile. "I love you too, Nico. So, so much."

My smile stayed intact when we embraced. I never thought I would ever feel so happy in my entire life. My mind was swimming in Elysium at the moment. The tremendously loud sounds of the fireworks Leo made seemed to have disappeared, and the only thing that existed was Percy and me. Frankly, it was the best holiday I will ever experience.

"By the way," Percy began once we pulled away. "Are you going to tell me why you didn't tell Jason or Leo _or_ Piper that we were dating?"

I sighed. "It's stupid, really."

"Oh, come on," Percy said. "Don't worry. Just tell me. I won't make fun of you about it or anything like Leo."

I rolled my eyes. "I just... Thought you weren't ready to show that you were... In a relationship with a guy. So, I didn't tell anyone. I'm sorry, Percy, for not asking you about it earlier. Hazel said you weren't the kind of guy to be afraid about it for a long time, but I was still scared to ask you."

"I'm guessing that was why you always pulled away from me whenever I got too close to you, right?" Percy questioned after a moment of silence excluding the fireworks.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorr—"

I was interrupted by another blissful kiss. Gods, I was never going to get tired of Percy's lips against mine. I had always fantasized about it, but I had never thought it would become a reality.

Before I could respond to Percy's kiss, he pulled away and offered me a smile. "Hey, don't apologize so much. I get what you're trying to say. It makes sense to me, so I can't really blame you. We're all afraid to something, right?"

I nodded slowly in comprehension. "What are you afraid of?"

Percy was silent for awhile. His eyes became clouded, and I regretted asking him such a personal question. I opened my mouth to tell him that he didn't have to say anything, but Percy beat me to it.

"I'm afraid of losing you..." Percy whispered, and I wouldn't have heard if not for the fireworks stopping to let the large amount of smoke disperse through the air.

"Percy..."

"So don't leave me, okay?" Percy grinned at me, and I returned the grin.

"Alright. You better not leave me either, Percy."

"I'd throw away the whole world for you." Our lips met again in another long and passionate kiss that seemed to be pulled right out of my very dreams.

When we separated, Percy was still grinning. "Happy New Year, Nico."

I wasn't surprised by the fact that I was still smiling as well. I mean, why wouldn't I be happy?

"Happy New Year, Percy."


End file.
